For the fourth consecutive season, Bruce Boudreau’s Anaheim Ducks have exited the postseason after losing Game 7 on home ice. In each of those seasons, the Ducks have had a 3-2 series lead on their opponent and gone on to lose both Games 6 & 7. This happened in 2013 against the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, in 2014 against rival Los Angeles Kings in the second round, and in 2015 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals. Somehow Boudreau kept his job despite these past three heart-wrenching defeats. It was this fourth Game 7 loss against the Nashville Predators that was finally too much for general manager Bob Murray to bear and cost Boudreau his job.
The Ducks announced Friday, April 29 that Boudreau has been let go, ending his tenure as head coach after 352 games. During his time with the team, Boudreau had a record of 208-104-40, which puts him second for coaching wins and first all-time in winning percentage in franchise history.
“I would like to thank Bruce for his hard work and dedication to the franchise,” Murray said in a press conference the day after the firing. “This was a very difficult decision to make. Bruce is a good coach and character person, and we wish him the best of luck in the future.”
Boudreau’s firing is not surprising given the way the Ducks were ousted from the postseason. Many considered a first-round exit premature for the Ducks, especially as they were considered to be the Stanley Cup favourite.
The Ducks did stick by Boudreau earlier in the season when the team was struggling and at the bottom of the league standings through October. He was able to lead the franchise to its fourth consecutive divisional title, but a lot of that had to do with the re-emergence of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf who struggled in the first 20 games and stellar goaltending from Frederik Andersen and John Gibson.
Without playoff success, however, Boudreau’s regular season accomplishments do not mean much. He led the Ducks to one Western Conference Final but never beyond that. The same happened with the Washington Capitals when he coached there from 2007-2011. The 61-year-old still has one season remaining on his contract with the Ducks.
Boudreau will now become one of the most sought after coaches in the league. The Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and, most recently, Calgary Flames all have coaching vacancies. On Tuesday, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that the Senators have received permission to talk to the former Ducks boss.
For Boudreau, as tough of a pill it might be to swallow, to say he was blindsided would be wrong. In the coach’s first interview since being fired Friday, he revealed to Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register “I always had the sense that something was going to happen unless we actually won the Cup. I had let some people know that it was great working with them before it happened. And I thought it was going to happen.”
However, it is difficult to point the finger solely at Boudreau. His superstars Getzlaf and Perry underwhelmed in this postseason, but he did not throw his players under the bus. It was the same case in Washington when he refused to single out Alex Ovechkin.
There is no question that Bruce Boudreau will find another coaching job in the NHL, with the strong possibility it happens as early as next month. He is an offensive wizard but has had golden opportunities with two different teams to not only reach the Stanley Cup Final but also win it. He has had a plethora of talented players at his disposal but still has not been able to attain the ultimate prize.
What might be a general manager’s bone of contention in deciding whether or not to hire Boudreau is, in the last four seasons, all the Game 7 losses have been on home ice. The team has also given up a goal in the first 10 minutes of each of those games. You can call it preparation, or lack there of, but the coach’s responsibility is to make sure that his players come out and play in the big moments when the lights are shining, and Boudreau has failed to do that.
